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This is the Clemens Story

as related in evidence at the coroner’s inquest

On July 19, 1952, Clarence Clemens, a Negro long:
shoreman, was arrested by two Vancouver city policemen,
Robert Wintrip and Dan Brown. The following morning he
was taken to Vancouver General Hospital for an examina:
tion, but was discharged the same day. Freed on $50 bail,
he remained at home in bed until July 28, when he lapsed
into a coma: and was again rushed to Vancouver General
Hospital. He died on Christmas eve, December 24, without
ever having regained full consciousness.

Five days before Clemens died Constable Dan Brown
started libel proceedings against the Pacific Tribune on the
basis of stories this paper published dealing with the Clemens

case

“On January 6, 1953,,an inquest was held at the Van-

couver coroner’s court before Dr. J. D. Whitbread, Coroner.
The jury’s verdict stated that Clemens died “an unnatural
accidental death as a result of injury to the spinal cord caused

by an old injury which may

have been aggravated by his

strenuous struggle while resisting arrest by the Vancouver
City Police Force officers at approximately 2.30 a.m. July
19, 1952, in the normal course of their duties and we further
wish to commend the doctors of the Vancouver General
Hospital for their thorough treatment and care of the deceas-

ed as a staff patient.”

The verdict has aroused wide dissatisfaction. As a pub-
lic service, the Pacific Tribune is publishing important ex-
cerpts from witnesses’ statements: made under oath at the

inquest.

Sat. Milton
Walker

Sgt. Milton Walker, of the
Vancouver Police Department,
was sergeant jailer on July 19,
1952, when Clarence Clemens
was arrested. He testified, in
part:

I saw Constables Brown and
Wintrip bring the man that I was
later told was Mr. Clemens to
the desk and he was booked in on
a charge of assaulting a PC. Dur-
ing the course of my duties we
have quite a number of people
arrested in an evening and many
of them drunk. Brown and Win-
trip assisted this colored man to
the booking office and when they
got him to the booking office they
released him and he slumped to
the floor. That wasn’t to my mind
an unusual thing because the ma-
jority of the people—not the ma-
jority of people but quite a num-
ber of people who are brought
into the jail are in that condition
that they are not able to stand,
and we have to take the particu-
jars of the birth, age, all the par-
ticulars about them, from what
we can see ef them when they are
lying on the floor; and we usually
mark them T.D. on the booking
sheet which means “too drunk”...

I booked Cleméns in and after

I finished booking him in he was

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| taken to the cell and I don’t know

whether he was assisted to a cell
to~the elevator—some of them are
taken to the second floor to the
cell from the booking office.

Mr. Nemetz: Did you see him
yourself, sergeant, after—

A: I didn’t see him. As a mat-
ter of fact, after I had booked
him away I might have put his
effects in the locker... .

Q: Did you see him when he
was taken out to the hospital?

A: No.

Q: You “did not?

A: I might enlarge on that. Con-
stable Haw’ told me about six
o’clock in the morning that he
had seen the matron.

Q: Yes? ’

A: She told him—or Haw told
me he ‘had take the matron to see
Clemens and Mrs. Heathorne said
she thought that he was putting
on an act. It was sort of third
hand to me; otherwise I would
have sent him to the hospital but
she said she thought he was put-
ting on an act.

Q: She reported it to Haw?

A: Yes, and Haw reported it to
me. At the time he was just an
ordinary drunk. ...

The coroner: You thought this
man was intoxicated? e

A: I thought he was a regular
intoxicated man.

Juror: Did you find a knife
among his effects?

A: I do remember someone giv-
ing me a knife which was partly

open, and that was drawn to my |

attention iater on because we do
find knives among prisoners’ ef-
fects. And, this knife, was partly
open. I had forgotten it until you
brought it up now, but I do re-
member it now. It was partially
open bearing quite a long blade,
anyway, I would say a four-inch
blade, what you know as a spring
knife...

Mr. Stanton: A knife that was
taken from him was put on the
table among other things? !

A: Yes, among other things.

Q: And this was a jack knife
about four inches—

A: No.

Q: Like a boyscout— i

A: No. I didn’t think it was a

.| his property from his person and

boy scout knife. I thought it was
a spring knife.

Q: What do you mean by a
spring knife?

A: It is a knife, when you press
a‘button the blade springs out.

PC Robert
John Haw

PC 343 Robert John Haw, Van-
couver City Police Department,
testified | that he saw Clemens
when he checked cell block No. 4
at about 6 a.m. ;

Mr. Nemetz: What had caused
you to see him? :

A: Well, he complained to me
he ouldn’t move his body. And
his legs were numb.

Q: Yes. What did you do?

A: I went and opened the cell
door and spoke to him.

Q: Yes. :

A: And~ asked him what his
name was, and he told me what
his name was.-

Q: What did you do?

A: I went and informed Matron
Heathorne, and brought her back
to the,cell. She examined him
while I held the flashlight on him.

Q@: She examined him in your
presence?

A: That is correct.

Q: And then what did she do?

A: She thought that she would
wait for the day shift to come on
just to make sure. Well, I won’t
say what she said. She is coming
on. She said she would wait for
the day shift.

Q: What time does the day shift
come on? ;

A: They come on at a quarter
to eight.

Q: And this was at six o’clock?

A: Six o’clock in the morn-
ings

Mr. Dean: Was he lying on the
floor when he spoke to you?

A: Yes.

Q: Where, on the floor, by the
door?

A: I imagine three feet from
the door.

Q: Was he able to speak coher-
ently to you?

A: Yes. ;

Q: Quite coherently to you?

A: Yes.

Q: Did you see any signs of
speech being blurred, or slurred?

A: He spoke quite clearly.

PC Walter
-G. Corson

PC 16 Walter Gordon Corson,
Vancouver City Police Depart-
ment, who was assistant jailer
that night, testified, in part:

I assisted the two officers bring
the prisoner to the booking desk,
and he stood at the booking desk
and I prepared to search him. Be-
fore I even -had a chance to Yo
through his property ‘he slumped
to the floor. I said—I told him
to get up on his feet and stand
up to the bar and answer the
sergeant’s questions. He inform-
ed me he couldn’t stand up so I
proceeded to search him. .. I
proceeded to search him and took

A

Mr. Nemetz: Now what property
did you take from him? Would
you describe that please?

A: Well, I couldn’t describe all
of the property; I knew there was
papers and there. was a_ badly
worn wallet, but the one distinct
thing I did notice was the open
jack knife in his pocket. J re-
moved that from his right hand
coat’ pocket and placed these on
the desk and the sergeant con-
tinued to book him in.- After he
was all booked in I took him to
the elevator, placed him-in the
elevator and took him up to the
next floor. ...

Q@: And you assisted him, did
you?

A: I was forced to drag him on
with his shoulders. :

Q: And did you have occasion
to see him again after you ‘had
locked him in?

A: I did. el had numerous oc-
casions during the night in my
rounds and checks... .

Q: Now what occurred during
that morning that was out of the
ordinary?

A: Well, actually there was no-
thing out of the ordinary. The
ordinary prisoner that we place
in the cell block I would, wake
him up and all I would get was a
grumbling. He was asleep every

would just get a grumbling out
of him.

Q: Yes.

A: After I would wake him up
and just get a grumbling out of
him I knew he was alive and well.

Mr. Stanton: Was it a jack knife
you took from his possession?

A: That is right, sir.

Q: It was a jack knife, a boy
scout knife?

A: Yes.

Q: The. kind that— >”

A: Unfolds.

Q: The blade would be about
/four inches long?

A: About three and
inches.

Q@: You said you assisted him
from the booking place to his
cell?

a_ half

time that I went into his cell. I.

A: Yes, that is right. i

Q: Did you support part of his
weight all the way along?

A: I did as I do with them all,
I had his weight on my arm and
dragged his héels along the floor.

Q: I see. You dragged his heels
along the floor?

A: Yes.

Q: And when you got him into”

the cell was there a bed there?

A: Well, there are beds but it
would be impossible for me to
lift him on to the bed.

Q:. Was he left on the floor.

A: Yes, the majority of the
time when we place a drunk in
the cell as far as: I know we never
put him on the bed.

Q: I am not criticizing you. 1
am just asking you questions. Did
he at any time ask for aid?

A: No, he did not.

Q: Was there any doctor in the
jail that night?

A: No, there wasn’t.

Q: I take it there never is?

A: Not to my knowledge.

Q@: And did you see him lying
on the floor at the various times

you called up to see that he was
alright?

A: Yes.

Mr. Dean: When was the last
time you saw him, Officer?

A: The last time I saw him was
a quarter to six. :

Q: And he was still on the floor?

A: Yes.

Q: And this knife you took off

him, was that knife fully opened?
A: Yes, it was fully opened 12
his pocket.
The coroner: Do you mean to

say you have never seen a doctor

up in the jail? ;
A: Other than on day shift.
Q: At night time?

A: At night time, I have see?

the doctor come around and make
his checks.

Q@: Yes. They do that every
night. }

A: Not on midnight shift.

Q: What shift?

A: Not from midnight in. 07
the day shift and night shift.

The coroner: Alright, that is all.

—«

3

placed it on the booking desk be-
fore the sergeant.

‘

Pacific Tribune’s

Clemens Case

The Pacific Tribune, Room 6, 426 Main St., Vancouver 4, B.C.

A enclose Be tic t sac. as a contribution to your defense fund
BEAVIS eee
ROR ee yo nt a
Pitas ocitive cosmos Gt How ae

in the

_—_

”

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — APRIL 3, 1953 — PAGE *

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